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What if~Woodrow Wilson never became President?
Woodrow Wilson is one of the most complex figures in the history of the United States. A President that wanted no part in the war happening in Europe to introducing something *he* thought would be in Europe's interest. But what he did is set the stage of what would influence the world not just in the immediate decades following World War 1, but for the rest of the 20th century and beyond. So, what if in an alternate reality, Woodrow Wilson never becomes President? That is what this page will try to cover. Bur first (and always) some historical context, you can just scroll down to the "what if?" part of the page if you just want to learn about the scenario. Our History Woodrow Wilson was born in Virginia in 1856, also raised by his father (a Presbyterian Minister) they moved to Georgia when he was 2, and as the US Civil War broke out, his father went to divide the "Presbyterian Church of the United States" and created a southern branch of that group. He attended Princeton University when he came of age, and by 1910 he was appointed as Governor of by Native New Jersey. By 1912 during the Presidential Election, he has beaten out the other Presidents such as Theodore Roosevelt and William Taft for the Presidency. During his Presidency, he passed some tax legislation and even created the Federal Reserve system, he also passed new labor laws (especially for the 8-Hour Work Day. But he also segregated Congress and passed anti-trust legislation. When World War 1 began, he chose not to have the USA to go to war. It wasn't until 1917 when Wilson finally decided to declare war on Germany, and that is when the British cruise ship the Lusitania was torpedoed by a German Submarine. After the war, Wilson (along with British Prime Minister David Lloyd George and French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau discussed the Treaty of Versailles. ''Wilson came up with his solutions which he calls the ''"14 Points", though not all of them are implemented in the treaty, it would help Europe rebuild and lead to the creation of the "League of Nations". But it would also set the stage for World War 2 and other events for the rest of the 20th century. Wilson would continue to be President until he fell sick and can't be President anymore, he died on February 4, 1924. What if? Now for your favorite question, what if Woodrow Wilson never became President? Now, I have done some studying on this, and I have concluded that Wilson's "14 Points" and how he influenced events in not just the US, but every corner of the world. So, imagining a world *without* Wilson is quite difficult and long to explain since his influence in the post WW1 era was so influential that removing him from history will have a lot of ramifications, and I do mean *a lot*. During the 1912 election, there was a fierce rivalry between Theodore Roosevelt and William Taft (both who were President before), and their rivalry was so great, people got fed up and decided to elect Wilson, and that is why Wilson was President in the first place. In this Alternate Reality without Wilson, it's likely that Theodore Roosevelt would be elected President, and what does that change? A lot, just even in the USA. We know that Roosevelt was an absolute aggressor (especially that he's a veteran in the Spanish-American War) and likes to show off the USA's muscle. When it comes to the First World War, Roosevelt would declare war on the German Empire at the outbreak of WW1, not when his hand was forced. In our reality, after Wilson declared war on Germany, it took almost a year for the US Army to arrive in Europe to help Britain and France, and by 1918 the writing was on the wall for the Central Powers, and Russia left the war a year earlier. In this Alternate reality, it would still take a year or so for the US to mobilize and arrive in Europe, but just at an earlier time in the war. What does this do? It forces Germany to sent troops fighting on the Eastern Front to the Western Front to reinforce Germany's holdings. Of course, this releases some pressure for the Russian Imperial Army, but it would be unlikely that they would gain any significant advantage over the Germans as Russia wasn't properly equipped nor did they had the technology to fight against the Germans (not to mention that Russia was also poorly led). Nevertheless, more than likely this would hasten the demise for the Central Powers, so WW1 could end a year or so earlier in this alternate reality (around late 1916 to early 1917) which is a good thing with the US' early involvement in the war. The bad part, however, is that the US Army would suffer a lot more casualties since it got into the war early. IN the picture on the right is what I believe the casualties would be for the US in this alternate reality. Without Wilson, the US Congress is never segregated and human rights would probably more prominent and come earlier as well. The Jim Crow Laws in the southern states would either be less prominent or non-existent. Because of this, people of other ethnicities, as well as women in the USA, can join Congress decades earlier than in our reality. We may see a man (or a woman) of a different ethnicity other than white becoming President sooner as well. Though, another "white supremacy" President could've done the same thing Wilson did. But for the sake of this scenario, let's say this doesn't happen. But, not all is good in the US. Because the US would suffer more casualties, this would create scars and damage the relationship between the US and Germany and these scars would also heal slowly. But this alternate scenario doesn't just pertain to the USA. As said before, what Wilson did (especially his 14 Points) affected everything around the world. An alternate treaty will more than likely be signed, but instead of Wilson being there, it would be Roosevelt, and he wouldn't come up with "14 Points" to make sure the world is now safe, more than likely he will let France condemn Germany for the war. But Germany's fate can go down different paths. Plus, the League of Nations would also not exist. 1. The Allies and Russia would invade deep into Germany until they surrender and Germany loses a lot of their territory. 2. Germany sues for peace and they get to keep most (if not all) of their territories, and even make a condition with the Allies and Russia to keep the Kaiser in power (which is unlikely). '3. '''Germany fights to the last man and his completely occupied by the Allies and Russia (very much like after WW2 in our reality). Whatever the scenario, Germany could be in a much worse state then it was after the war in our reality. This scenario also pertains to Russia. Even in this alternate reality, the Russian Revolution in some way happens. Now, it's most likely that the ''February Revolution would still happen (and that is because of Russia's involvement in WW1 in the first place), and the Romanov Family of Tsars would still be overthrown and replaced by a Provisional Government. But because the war ended early, the Provisional Government will stay in power and the October Revolution wouldn't happen, thus the Bolsheviks wouldn't be popular and never take over the government, and thus no USSR. Without a Communist takeover in Russia, it doesn't become hostile towards the west. But the Government would be like a Democratic-Socialist ''political entity. It's also likely that Hitler (the Snake in the grass) and his Nazis would also not be popular in Germany. Though, Germany's animosity towards Judaism would still be present, just not to the extreme, antisemitic extent of the Nazis, so the Jewish community would be bigger than it is in our reality. It's also difficult to speculate on what would happen in the Spanish Civil War since both Nazis and Soviets were involved in this conflict. The entire demographics in Europe are changed dramatically, especially in Eastern Europe because Russia never signed the ''Treaty of Brest-Lotovsk, they get to keep a lot of their territories in Eastern Europe. Nations such as Poland, Ukraine, Belarus and the Baltic Nations would either never exist or pop up in a very different fashion. Let's move on to Asia now. This concerns them too. The Ottoman Empire during WW1 controlled much of the Middle East, and because they joined the Central Powers the Western Alliance also had plans for the Empire. This came in the form of the Sykes-Picot Agreement which is supposed to unify the entire Arabian Peninsula but never followed through, and thus the modern Arabic nations such as Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Isreal were formed. Now, it's unknown if Wilson was involved in this agreement, but in this alternate reality, it's unlikely that the Sykes-Picot Agreement would exist. Now, we go to the Far East. The Chinese Civil War would still happen in a world without Wilson. But it's unlikely that the Communists would hold out against the Nationalists as Russia never became communist. But it does have some huge ramifications. No matter what the reality (or timeline) and no matter what the situation in Europe. Japan will *always* have a campaign for the Far East and the Pacific. By the 1930s, Japan will still invade China and other places in the Pacific region. In our reality, both the Nationalists and the Communists fought against the invading Japanese and (ironically) the Communists had an easier time with the Japanese than the Nationalists did, so it's likely that China would have a much more difficult time dealing with Japan as the Nationalists would fight alone. AND if the USA embargoes Japan's oil, Japan will still attack the USA. The USA and Japan are at war, even in this alternate reality, but like in our reality, the US would have a technological advantage over the Japanese. But, things can get messy for the US Military fighting in the Pacific. Because Russia hasn't been taken over by the Soviets (who industrialize the nation to have it fight in the war), the USA wouldn't have the USSR to help, and thus no invasion of Manchuria by the Soviets. This could lead to an alternate Operation Downfall where the US would have to invade the Japanese mainland. But because of no Soviet invasion of Manchuria, the soldiers in that region would be ordered to regroup back to Japan to prepare for the US invasion of Japan, which causes immense casualties on both sides. Though, no matter what, the US is more likely to win this conflict as like in our reality have bombed Japan's cities leaving Japan with little resources to fight against the US. This could also hurt the global view of the USA because of the brutality in both Europe and the Far East, the USA could develop an "unfair" reputation as a "bully" because of their sheer brutality against the Germans and eventually the Japanese. It is unknown how this would affect the US economy or the nation's politics. But what could also happen not just in the USA, but Western Europe and other Democratic Nations is that some of them would implement their own form of socialist or fascist ideas. Because Hitler and Stalin never came to power in this alternate reality, these political ideals won't be discredited forever since millions of Eastern Europeans and Russians never die under Hitler's and Stalin's inhumane acts and murders. Yes, it's hard to imagine that one man's actions and decisions could dictate what events that can take place in not just the immediate times after a great war, but for the rest of the 20th century (in fact, the entire world still feels the effects of Wilson's policies whether or not they're good or bad. He may not have been the US' best president, but his intentions were good, but also had unintended consequences. Have Wilson not become President, the world would be a lot different, for better or for worse. Want to know what China would be like if Mao Tse Tung never conquered it? Just click here if you want to read about the alternate scenario. Don't forget to check out my Games and Movies wikis as well. Until next time this is JohnnyOTGS signing out.